Telephone coin-collecting apparatus



' May 23, 193%. c NK 2,159,216

TELEPHONE COIN -COLLECT INC- APPARATUS Filed June 27, 1956 FIG.

Patented May 23, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TELEPHONE COIN-COLLECTING APPARATUS Application June 27, 1936, Serial N0. 87,679

1 Claim.

This invention relates to telephone coin collecting apparatus, and more particularly to coin collectors for use at telephone pay stations.

The present invention is particularly adaptable to the type of coin collecting apparatus employed at a telephone pay station wherein the calling party deposits coins of various denominations as indicated by the central office operator. Deposit of the coins is automatically signalled to the central oiiice operator, each coin transmitting a signal of characteristic significance. Apparatus of this general type is disclosed in U. S. Patent 1,043,219 to O. F. Forsberg, issued November 5, 1912. In the operation of a telephone pay station it is desirable to provide means, controllable from the central office, for signalling the subscriber. This has been accomplished by the use of a ringer unit installed in a separate housing adjacent to the coin collector.

An object of this invention is to provide a more economical and serviceable construction for telephone coin collecting and signalling apparatus.

In accordance with one embodiment of this invention a ringer unit for signalling the subscriber and mechanism for collecting deposited coins are combined in the same housing with portions of the apparatus common to both functions. The combined apparatus comprises a housing, an inclined coin channel or chute within the housing, a ringer unit secured to the housing for signalling the subscriber and a signal hell or song common to the coin channel and to the ringer for indicating audibly the operation of the ringer and the passage of coins through the chute.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side view, partly in section, of the upper portion of a telephone coin collector embodying the invention, and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged and detailed sectional View taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

The apparatus is completely contained within a metal housing ID having parallel side walls II and I2 and a back plate or base l3. Secured to the housing by means of suitable brackets (not shown) is a coin channel or chute 14 which contains a series of paths 15 for coins of different denominations. The coin chute is mounted in a position laterally inclined to the base as shown in Fig. 1 to effect the ejection of undersized coins from the coin paths through suitably dis-posed openings in the chute wall.

Communicating with the coin channels is a coin gage 16 mounted on top of the housing for receiving coins deposited by calling parties. Adjacent to the coin channel is a dome-shaped signal bell or gong l1, mounted with a screw 1 8 on a formed support l9 which is welded or riveted 5 to the side wall I I of the housing.

Coins traversing the chute strike the gong to produce an audible signal indicating the deposit of the coin to the central ofiice operator. A fivecent piece strikes the gong once while traversing the chute and a ten-cent piece strikes the gong twice during its passage. The detailed construction and function of the housing, coin gauge and coin channel may be in accordance with the disclosure of the Forsberg patent previously men- 15 tioned and reference is made to that patent for a more complete description of this apparatus.

In accordance with a feature of this invention a ringer unit 29 is mounted in the housing by means of a bracket 2| welded or riveted to the side wall H. A ringer unit of the usual type employed in telephone apparatus to signal the subscriber can be used satisfactorily for this application. The usual ringer construction includes two coils 22 mounted on magnetic cores 3| within a U-shaped permanent magnet 24 and connected through suitable leads 23 to a power source (not shown) which is controlled by the central ofiice operator. A biased armature 25 is mounted pivotally at one end of the coils and carries an elongated shaft or reed 26. A spherical clapper 21 is secured to the unsupported end of the reed. The ringer unit is adjustably fastened to the bracket 2| by means of a slotted screw 28 and corresponding nut.

The bracket is formed and located on the housing wall as required to position the clapper of the ringer adjacent to the signal gong so that when the clapper is actuated as a result of the introduction of current to the coils, it oscillates against 40 the gong, producing an audible signal to summon the subscriber. Adjustment of the relative position of the clapper and the gong and consequently the volume of the signal produced, can be regulated by means of the slotted screw which secures 45 the ringer unit to its mounting bracket. For installations where the signal produced by one gong is inadequate, a second signal bell or gong 29 can be mounted on the ringer unit frame 30 in a position where it also will be engaged by the 50 actuated clapper and thus amplify the signal.

Installation of the subscriber ringing unit in the same housing with the coin collecting apparatus provides a compact, efficient and economical design. The use of a common gong for 55 indicating the remotely controlled operation of the ringer and the local deposit of coins reduces the number of component parts required and consequently the manufacturing cost.

Modifications of the specific design disclosed herein are feasible and it is to be understood that other embodiments of the invention are contemplated consistent with the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a telephone pay station having a housing, a coin chute, a ringer unit mounted parallel to said coin chute for signalling the subscriber, a hell or gong secured to said housing in a plane perpendicular to the plane of said chute in such a position that a coin passing through said chute will strike said bell or gong twice, and an electrical pick-up device arranged to transmit to the central office operator the signals produced by coins striking said hell or gong, said ringer unit having a single hell or gong mounted thereon in a plane perpendicular to the plane in which said first mentioned hell or gong is mounted and having a clapper arranged to strike both of said bells or gongs.

ARTHUR C. LINK. 

